Demo for South Slope Wood Frame

The South Slope blog IMBY reported yesterday that a pre-demolition application has been filed for the wood frame house at 361 13th Street, between 6th and 7th avenues. As IMBY says: “This ‘1920’ two story semi-detached wood frame home sold this past July for $795,000; once it’s obliterated, it will allow for construction of a typical 50-foot tall, four-family infill condo building like the kind that have sprung up all over Brooklyn in the last decade.” We know the type! (And the house is likely much older than 1920.) At this time, the DOB hasn’t yet approved any building plans for this site post-demolition. Do you think this will be a loss or a plus for the neighborhood?Park Slope South to Lose More Wood [IMBY] GMAPPhoto by IMBY

so sad. This is probably civil war era. A developer could pretty this up and make it a two family for probably around a 100K and sell it for 1.3-1.5 when done, and have a much smaller outlay and headache…if they had the right aesthetic at work.

how did this sell for so low in the first place- is it totally gone and falling down.

Historical? Landmark? If it is as desireable as everyone implies, then someone with a keen sense of history and nostalgia should have bought it and restored it. It is not as if developers have exclusive rights to buy property.
As for the new developments, once they finish their “Fedders” specials as you like to call them, people will be flowing through the open house showings and snatch them up. It is not that I think these most of the new developments are wonderful, but not everythinig old is worth preserving either.

The whole “affordable” argument doesn’t justify how crappy these condos look, and what they’re doing to these South Slope blocks. A developer that gave a rat’s a$$ could come up with a less intrusive design and still make money, and still keep their price point. South Slope has a great mix of housing styles, not nearly as grand as you’d find in Center Slope, but with a lot of charm and a real neighborhood vibe. House by house, people have lovingly fixed up a lot of these wood frames, invested in their neighborhood, and deserve better than to have a butt-ugly condo shoved up next door. Just because South Slope isn’t as wealthy as its neighbor to the north doesn’t mean there’s not an aesthetic here worth protecting.

You are blaming the developers and aksing them to justify what the market is willing to do. If the market doesn’t buy the “crap” then the developers won’t build the “crap”. If someone in the market were to buy this house and fix it, then the developers wouldn’t have had the opportunity in the first place, but they didn’t. You make it seem like those that have lovingly fixed up their wood frames did so because they invested in the neighborhood. That is a bonus, but the reality is they invested for themselves first. I am gueesing this particular house didn’t make the cut. You want better development, get people to stop buying that “crap”.